urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-789e8244-2f53-4645-bfaf-3bd18730ff78IBM Business Insight blog - Australia & New Zealand - Tags - virtualisation Business Insight gives you access to the very best thought leadership, information and tools for smarter business strategies and practices. Discover a broad range of real-life case studies, blogs, articles and ideas from leading experts.62015-07-21T08:53:17-04:00IBM Connections - Blogsurn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-813421c7-ea55-493e-af99-be58b48a0631Are you cloud ready?Joanne Dooleykylemaskell+29@gmail.com270005M0KUactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-08-22T23:54:13-04:002012-08-23T00:02:14-04:00For many midsized organisations, the Cloud used to represent a step into the unknown that may invite security risks, increased costs and a larger IT workload.<br><br>Many believe organisations are now realising that cloud computing can actually reduce IT costs by moving the right workloads to a cloud-based IT consumption model. The Cloud can provide anytime access to key business applications, provide organisations with new capabilities and streamline business, whilst maintaining the right level of security.<br><br>Cloud computing is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. With both public and private cloud deployment models available, an organisation has the flexibility to get a solution tailored to their business demands and needs. They can choose to utilise the public cloud, build their own private cloud or even organise for a vendor like IBM to build and run a private cloud for them. Companies should take the time to decide which workloads are suitable for moving to a cloud and which deployment model suits them best.<br><br>No matter what an organisation chooses, reputable vendors like IBM now have the ability to assist companies of all sizes to create their own secure and scalable cloud infrastructure. The cloud can also offer midsized businesses significant cost savings as well, for as little as 10 to 15 cents an hour, you can have additional storage capacity.<br><br>For midsized businesses starting out with the cloud, it’s important to select the type of cloud that best suits the workload. Private clouds offer the greatest security because they are run behind a company’s firewall. Therefore, my suggestion would be that mission critical data may be better suited to the private cloud, while the public cloud is great for such things as development and testing.<br><br>Adapting to the cloud, public or private, allows organisations to easily experiment with virtualisation, standardisation and automation – all processes that can increase the efficiency of an organisation.<br><br>For smaller IT solutions, IBM also has very simple cloud based solutions for companies that need additional server capacity immediately.<br><br>I’m particularly excited about the prospect of the public cloud area. We have an offering at the moment called SmartCloud Enterprise. Quite literally in six minutes you can provision a service, get an IP address and be up and running with additional server capacity.<br><br>This lightning fast set-up is a very good way for companies to dip their toe in the water and experiment with cloud solutions. Plus, as this is a scalable solution, you also have the ability to use as much or as little of the cloud that you need.<br><br>For first-time users of the cloud, IBM recommends to start by trialling one area of your IT infrastructure. If you feel this solution works for you, then you can simply add more services to the cloud. The beauty of utilising such a scalable solution is that you also have total control.<br><br>Gain more insights into IBM SmartCloud Enterprise and subscribe to our 3 part email series here for <a href="https://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/iwm/web/signup.do?source=mid-smartcloudAU">Australia</a> and <a href="https://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/iwm/web/signup.do?source=mid-smartcloudNZ">New Zealand</a>.&nbsp;
For many midsized organisations, the Cloud used to represent a step into the unknown that may invite security risks, increased costs and a larger IT workload. Many believe organisations are now realising that cloud computing can actually reduce IT costs by...003185urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-789e8244-2f53-4645-bfaf-3bd18730ff78IBM Business Insight blog - Australia & New Zealand2015-07-21T08:53:17-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-810896ae-c1e0-4ef8-94d4-2f6219f4382dHappy Ever AfterSimon Sharwoodkylemaskell+24@gmail.com270005GK8TactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-07-15T20:21:45-04:002012-07-15T20:22:19-04:00Every business knows that it really should create archives of its data, as a backup, to meet some compliances obligations and to preserve its intellectual property. But not many realise that creating a reliable and durable working archive is a tricky business.<br><div>&nbsp;</div><div>To understand why, you need to remember the story of 1066 and all that, when William the Conqueror became King of England. 20 years into his reign William commissioned a Census of sorts and The Domesday Book listed its results.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Books haven't changed much since 1086, so even though The Domesday Book was written in archaic Latin and became a priceless historical artefact, its format was readable for 900 years. But in 1986, the BBC decided to create a new, digital, edition of the Domesday Book. The best technology of the day (laser disks) were pressed into service for a new digital edition.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>But a few years later, compact disks superseded laser disks. Working laser disk players became hard to find and the computer for which the digital Domesday was created became an irrelevant relic. The considerable work that went into the Digital Domesday seemed wasted.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Clever people eventually found a way to restore the digital version of the Domesday Book so it would work with modern computers, but the incident highlights the fact that the formats we use to archive data can age very rapidly. There's no guarantee that data you create today will be accessible in five or ten years.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Another example of data's short life is in Perth where a company called Spectrum Data specialises in taking old computer tapes and converting the data into newer formats. The company combs the world for working tape drives from the seventies and sixties to meet demand from organisations that can no longer read their own data.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Among its clients is NASA, which famously lost the video recordings of the first moon landing. That loss highlights another thing about archives, namely that you need to keep track of the physical media you use very carefully.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>When I share these stories with business, their reaction is often that they don't need to worry about their archives because they preserve data from their accounting applications for tax purposes.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>But there's a bit more to worry about. Thanks to some unscrupulous businesses that tried to hide documents from the courts, laws around the world (and increasingly in Australia penalise businesses that are careless with their old data in case it becomes relevant to future legal action. Those laws make your old emails important archival material that you may have a responsibility to preserve.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Other businesses are waking up to the fact that their shift to digital media means data archives will be important.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Workers compensation insurers, for example, tell me that they need access to employees' complete work history, just in case a minor injury at one point of a career becomes something that generates a claim decades in the future. The healthcare industry is waking up to the fact that an x-ray taken of a child today may be needed by their doctor in eighty years time.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>How can you respond? Clearly it is time to take archives seriously.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Happily there are now several efforts aimed at ensuring data remains readable for a very long time. The LTO tape standard has a long forward roadmap that should make sure it remains readable and has been engineered so tapes last decades. The PDF/A standard offers an archival format for documents. The sheer ubiquity of some formats mean they stand a good chance of surviving, too: humanity has collectively made so many .doc, .jpg and HTML files that we have a shared investment in those formats' survival. Modern archiving software is aware of these requirements and can help you to create an archive that will last.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>But don't assume you can rely on ubiquity: the increasing reliance on accessibility of old data means it is a sensible time to seek expert help to define an archival strategy so you can understand what you need to do to get ready for requests for data that arrive in a year, a decade or even longer.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Gain more insights into the power of data and sign up to IBM’s 3 part email series here for <a href="https://www.ibm.com/services/forms/signup.do?source=mid-cognos">Australia </a>and <a href="https://www.ibm.com/services/forms/signup.do?source=mid-cognosNZ">New Zealand</a>. <br></div>
Every business knows that it really should create archives of its data, as a backup, to meet some compliances obligations and to preserve its intellectual property. But not many realise that creating a reliable and durable working archive is a tricky business....002370urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-789e8244-2f53-4645-bfaf-3bd18730ff78IBM Business Insight blog - Australia & New Zealand2015-07-21T08:53:17-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-6b8ab5a6-7035-4ae1-b3c6-9f24e07644fdVDI supports a new era of mobility and flexible workingNick Daykylemaskell+8@gmail.com2700058NFRactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-04-12T00:25:06-04:002012-04-12T00:25:06-04:00<h1>VDI supports a new era of mobility and flexible working </h1><div>&nbsp;</div><div><!--[if gte mso 9]&gt;&lt;xml&gt;
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<p>The modern workplace is changing. What we used to consider as the office is
now at home, on the train, at the airport and in the coffee shop across the
road. It’s anywhere that your always on, always connected workers happen to be
when they’re hooked up to their mobile device. Regardless of industry or
business type, this new era of mobility
can bring a wealth of benefits to your business such as productivity
enhancements, lower running costs as well as a lighter carbon footprint.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>Of course locking down company data and applications is paramount
particularly when most of your precious IP is right out there with your mobile
workers. And this is where a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) can really
make a difference in any small or medium-sized business.</p><div>&nbsp; <br></div>
<p>Fewer desktop problems and more efficient centralised support mean fewer IT
headaches and lower support costs. Storing data centrally rather than on
individual devices is simply best practice but something that is hard to
enforce in a normal desktop environment. And improved security – you can cope
much better if it’s just the device that goes missing, not everything on it.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>In any small business the opportunity to migrate from regulation desktops
and laptops and the litany of headaches that go with them to a virtualised environment with the capability to deploy thin
clients, netbooks and tablets all supported by a lightweight but empowered IT
team really is something to think about. You are not only reducing the costs of
managing IT, but you are expanding the reach of your organisation by making
your employees more mobile and responsive.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>Take a call centre environment where each worker needs access to specific
data and applications, but they don’t really need the power of a PC under their
desks sucking up power.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>What about real estate? Giving real estate agents the ability to work from
wherever they are, on whatever device. It could be an old office Windows XP
machine, their personal iPad or even a computer in an Internet cafe from which
they access the company’s email,
CRM data and business suite to service their clients and make the sale.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>The same applies for healthcare and legal. Think about the doctor doing the
rounds in the fast-paced confines of a hospital or a lawyer running between
courts. They can easily and securely access sensitive patient information or
confidential client documents where and when they need them without being tied
to a device.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>VDI is the essence of a flexible workplace. You can have workers tapping in from
home, your sales team out on the road and your remote team in branch offices
around Australia
and overseas.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>In my next post I’m going to be looking at the benefits of the private
cloud.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>And in the meantime, I’d love to hear about your working environment to see
how VDI could benefit your business.</p>&nbsp;
<br></div>
VDI supports a new era of mobility and flexible working &nbsp;
The modern workplace is changing. What we used to consider as the office is
now at home, on the train, at the airport and in the coffee shop across the
road. It’s anywhere that your always...00595urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-789e8244-2f53-4645-bfaf-3bd18730ff78IBM Business Insight blog - Australia & New Zealand2015-07-21T08:53:17-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-9b8b62c8-0ec8-43ee-99d1-c63b2435e536Cheaper and easier VDI, perfect for SMBsNick Daykylemaskell+8@gmail.com2700058NFRactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-04-12T00:21:45-04:002012-04-12T00:22:20-04:00<h1>Cheaper and easier VDI, perfect for SMBs</h1>
<p>Businesses everywhere are having to do more with less. It’s just
the way it is. But running leaner, faster and being more competitive
means you’ve got to leverage new technologies. You want your employers
to work smarter and not harder.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>With every part of CAPEX and OPEX under scrutiny, the traditional way
of doing things just doesn’t make sense any more. As I mentioned in an
earlier post the traditional model of employment and of housing staff
under the one roof is looking more than a little dated and indeed cost
prohibitive in our always on, always connected world.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>This is nothing new for IT of course. Budgets here have been under
the microscope for so long now. But with reduced budgets, it’s often
difficult to exploit new technologies when a massive chunk of your
budget is being spent on the unavoidably manual and labour-intensive
end-user support.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>I think this is why VDI presents such a viable alternative to how you manage desktops – how you contain the costs.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>As the cost of managing a desktop is up to 10x the cost of acquiring
it, businesses can reduce the TCO for employee desktops with a virtualised desktop infrastructure.
Spending less time and money building, managing, patching, upgrading
and supporting PCs. You’ll even be able to look at your fleet of aging
XP desktops without groaning.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>You see VDI also helps you reduce the resources you spend on
deploying and upgrading operating systems and desktop software. You can
also provide secure remote access to user desktops and applications
while keeping your confidential data safe and backed up.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>The new generation VDI also combines traditional online technology
with integrated offline and remote branch capabilities. This means
whether you’re in an online or offline environment, you can perform the
same tasks as you could if you were in the office.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>After all, isn’t it all about the work, not where you do the work from?</p><div><br></div>
<p>The good news is IBM’s VDIsolution can be deployed in your workplace in a matter of hours and you
can start to explore the benefits of easier, more cost effective
management of your desktops.</p>
Cheaper and easier VDI, perfect for SMBs
Businesses everywhere are having to do more with less. It’s just
the way it is. But running leaner, faster and being more competitive
means you’ve got to...00494urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-789e8244-2f53-4645-bfaf-3bd18730ff78IBM Business Insight blog - Australia & New Zealand2015-07-21T08:53:17-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-6ae2cf95-45b3-4a61-aafc-d0a1594abf88Less sleepless nights with VDI?Nick Daykylemaskell+8@gmail.com2700058NFRactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-04-12T00:18:02-04:002012-04-12T00:18:43-04:00<h1>Less sleepless nights with VDI?</h1>
<br><div>
As with most new technologies, big business has been quicker than the mid tier to tap into and explore the benefits of a virtual desktop infrastructure. When seeking a business model to help reduce costs, increase operational efficiencies, enhance security and allow for scale up and down, VDI has delivered a strong business case for the enterprise and one that’s been difficult to ignore.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><br><div>
However, up until recently, the cost and implied complexity of setting up VDI has represented a major barrier to adoption in cash-strapped, IT resource poor SMBs.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><br><div>
But with recent developments in VDI, the business case has become a sound reality for small and medium-sized businesses too. These upfront costs and complexity issues aren’t nearly so problematic. And the significant savings in desktop management and support have only become even more compelling.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><br><div>
That’s because the centralised nature of VDI creates fewer support headaches for IT. This is really significant for any small or medium-sized business, where IT support costs chew up a huge amount of your precious IT spend. These costs include help desk staff, IT support, maintenance, and software licenses not to mention the hardware upgrades. The list goes on.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><br><div>
With VDI much of this goes away. With very little hands-on maintenance required, you can transfer these costs to actually growing your business.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><br><div>
If you’re thinking this all sounds great but what does it actually take to get it all up and running, then just see for yourself with a proof of concept. Running a pilot in your business can be a reality in next to no time. Out of the box, with no new hardware required you use it to explore new ways of delivering applications and productivity enhancements to niche areas of your business like your sales team or remote contractors.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><br>
You see with VDI it’s not an all or nothing scenario. You can build up a virtual desktop environment department by department. Team by team. All the while, these distinct groups of users can get their hands on the applications and data you want them to use, all elegantly managed, supported and backed up at the data centre. With VDI there’s certainly fewer things to keep your IT guys awake at night!
Less sleepless nights with VDI?
As with most new technologies, big business has been quicker than the mid tier to tap into and explore the benefits of a virtual desktop infrastructure. When seeking a business model to help...00676urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-789e8244-2f53-4645-bfaf-3bd18730ff78IBM Business Insight blog - Australia & New Zealand2015-07-21T08:53:17-04:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-c1fa8d3f-dc35-4361-be14-02758daa39c1Data: Most of it is junkBill Bennettkylemaskell+7@gmail.com2700058NDTactiveComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikes2012-04-11T23:42:07-04:002012-04-11T23:42:07-04:00<div><h1>Data: Most of it is junk</h1>
</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Earlier this year, the journal Science reported the world’s total stock of
data storage hit 295 exabytes in 2007. It’s likely to be double that today.<br><br>
<p>An exabyte is one billion gigabytes. It’s usual when talking about vast
quantities of data to illustrate with an image. Try this: if 295 exabytes was
stored on CDs, the stack would stretch past the moon.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>It’s a lot of information. Or maybe not.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>Storage experts say anywhere from 80 to 90% of stored data is anything but
valuable. The bulk of material stored on the world’s disks, discs, tapes and
other media is worthless.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>Companies are increasingly moving applications and data to remote servers
where they can be managed more efficiently by dedicated specialist teams. To
get the best value from outsourced services, they need to make sure the data
they work with is in good shape.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>Trevor Clarke, a senior analyst with the Infrastructure Group at IDC
Australia, says companies should identify and <a href="http://www.bizinsight.com.au/businessintelligenceanalytics.aspx?t=12" target="_blank">analyse the data</a> that’s more critical and valuable then
store and protect it appropriately.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>He says: “All organisations should be looking at assessing what data they
are capturing now and then categorising this into tiers – this will then allow
them to make better decisions around what is and isn’t critical and on what
kind of <a href="http://www.bizinsightblog.com/author/simon/" target="_blank">storage
media</a> it should be kept on.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>“It’ll also help understand future storage requirements and whether you need
to adopt technologies like de-duplication that can let you cut down on
unnecessary duplication of data.”</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>Devising a data strategy is important for any business. Thankfully it’s not
a task you have to do for yourself. Clarke says there are many service
providers and vendors who can help with assessing your storage architecture,
then manage it.</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>He says: “I’d advise organisations to make sure they do the proper
due-diligence on selecting a partner for this, as your storage infrastructure
is a vital component of any IT system and having a sound and forward looking
strategy in place can help alleviate a lot of pain down the track.”</p><div>&nbsp;</div>
<p>Most of the world’s data might well be junk, making sure your data is
worthwhile isn’t difficult.</p><div>&nbsp;</div></div>Data: Most of it is junk
&nbsp; Earlier this year, the journal Science reported the world’s total stock of
data storage hit 295 exabytes in 2007. It’s likely to be double that today.
An exabyte is one billion gigabytes. It’s...00504urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-789e8244-2f53-4645-bfaf-3bd18730ff78IBM Business Insight blog - Australia & New Zealand2015-07-21T08:53:17-04:00